The End
by Luna 'Tic' Vee
Summary: An accident may just doom Dib. Final thoughts. Is this really the end?


The End  
by Luna "Tic" Vee  
  
Pre-Fic Authoress' Note: This song is meant to be read while listening to "Space Suit" by They Might Be Giants. I suggest that before reading, you either whip out your copy of Apollo 18 and turn to track 38, or download "Space Suit" from a file-swapping service. I suggest Morpheus, WinMX, or my favourite, Audiogalaxy. Believe me, this fic is much better with the musical accompanyment. -- L.  
  
***  
  
Endless...  
  
Floating...  
  
Cold...  
  
Dark...  
  
Guilt...  
  
So scared...  
  
Dib shuddered as a tear slid down his cheek. He'd failed mankind, he'd failed his planet, he'd failed himself...  
  
Shot out of his make-shift space ship that he'd created from a stolen escape pod from Zim after an electronics failure, he now floated through the recesses of space, trapped in his space suit, air running down, watching the earth grow farther and farther away with each passing moment.  
  
He bit his lip, trying to be strong. If he was going to die, it was going to be honorably, unafraid of what was to come. He wasn't about to leave this plane of existance while weeping and wetting his pants. He was a Membrane. He had more spine than that...  
  
Who was he kidding? He watched the earth, his home, his beloved Earth, as he floated off to God knows where, condemned to his fate of suffocating in that coffin he called a space suit. He felt his heart shatter into a squillion bloody shards, blinking away tears that would not be denied exit.  
  
"Gaz... Dad... Everyone... I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't save you..." came a choked sob that almost startled him, taking a sledgehammer to the smothering silence.  
  
This was it... This was the end. This was his end. This was Earth's end. He'd failed. He was a failure. And it was all his fault. He hadn't even died in battle, in an honorable way. No, he'd been sent to his doom by a systems failure that was all his fault. If only he'd checked his systems better...  
  
His eyes drifted to the side as he saw Zim's voot runner floating there mockingly. Zim had won. Dear God, what had he done?  
  
Air supply running low, he was so far away... He didn't have much longer now...  
  
The voot runner floated, taunting him, and he saw his enemy, watching him with narrowed crimson eyes, as if to laugh with his glare.  
  
Wait...  
  
It wasn't floating...  
  
Was it...  
  
It was getting closer?  
  
Yes, the voot runner was headed straight for Dib. His mind would have thought he was saved, if it weren't for that whole 'logic' thing.  
  
Zim pulled the voot runner up alongside Dib's floating suit, and looked down at him, the boy's eyes half closed, breathing shallowly. He must be almost out of air now...  
  
With the jam of a button, the glass-like pod of the voot runner flew up and open, and Zim, holding his breath, reached down and grabbed Dib by the gloved hand.  
  
One heave later, Dib was safely inside the cockpit of the space ship, the glass back in place and closed. Zim wedged the helmet off of Dib's suit and glared down at the boy.  
  
Dib inhaled sharply, startled, to say the least, eyes wide. He quickly came fully to reality.  
  
"Zim..."  
  
Zim cocked an eye, waiting for the other end of the sentence to follow.  
  
"Whuh, why did you save me?" Dib shucked off the suit and pulled himself to his knees.  
  
"Because, Earthling..." Zim punched in the flight course for "home" and turned to face Dib once again. "Your death shall be at my hands. And nobody else's. Not even your own." With that, Zim turned back to his control panels and fell totally silent.  
  
Dib raised a startled eyebrow for a moment, before a smile crept across his face. He nodded a silent thanks, though it was met with a grimace from the Irken, and sat down, leaning against the nearest wall of the craft.  
  
It wasn't really the end afterall...  
  
It was just beginning...  
  
***  
  
Post-Fic Authoress' Note: I know it's kinda stupid to songfic a song with no lyrics, but it fit so well.  
  
Besides, this was also inspired by "THE NEWS" (dun dun dun). But like Dib's inner narrative states, it's just the beginning. Ever hear of the Star Trek Phenomena or the SOS Campaign? Back in the day when Star Trek was orignally taken off the air, fans rallied and got it put back on. In America, Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon fans (English name being Sailor Moon, of course) rallied with letter writing campaigns, procotts and the such, and over a course of years, got two and a half more seasons dubbed of the five season show. Sure, the dubbing sucked moose eyeballs, but that's beside the point.  
  
Fans make a difference.  
  
We just need to band together.  
  
LONG LIVE THE IRKEN EMPIRE! *thrusts fist into the air*  
  
***  
  
Disclaimer: All things Zim are owned by Jhonen Vasquez. I own nothing but the clothes on my back, and about three tons of Sculpey.  
  
***  
  
Questions? Comments? Prosthetic Foreheads? E-mail me at Druidess@msn.com  
  
***  
  
Thanks for reading! Stop and drop a review before leaving! Spooky says "Thank you!"  
  
Spooky: *squeek* 


End file.
